Victor Carrabotta (June 24, 1929 – November 22, 2022) was an American
comic-book artist and
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
art director whose career stretches to the early 1950s. His
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
art includes much work for
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
' 1950s forerunner,
Atlas Comics.
Biography
Early life and career
Born either in the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
suburb of
Eastchester or in the
Eastchester neighborhood of the borough
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
on June 24, 1929,
[Carrabotta in Carrabotta gives his birthplace as "Eastchester," without specifying whether the New York town or ]The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, neighborhood, while the Lambiek Comiclopedia (see citation) gives The Bronx.[Vic Carrabotta]
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia. October 18, 2011. Carrabbotta attended
Catholic elementary school, followed by
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's
High School of Music & Art
The High School of Music & Art, informally known as "Music & Art" (or "M&A"), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the High ...
and the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (later named the
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.
History
This school was started by ...
).
Drawing since grade school, Carrabotta as a teen became friendly with fledgling professional comic-book artist
Jerry Grandenetti
Charles J. "Jerry" Grandenetti (April 15, 1926 – February 19, 2010) was an American comic book artist and advertising art director, best known for his work with writer-artist Will Eisner on the celebrated comics feature "The Spirit", and for h ...
, who lived near Carrabotta's home and taught him
inking Inking may refer to:
*Inking (attack), act of throwing ink on other person
*Inking, a defensive activity of certain cephalopods and sea hares
* Inking (comic book production)
*Pen computing
Pen computing refers to any computer user-interface using ...
,
the step in the comic-book process where the
pencil artist's work is embellished with ink for stylistic and print-reproduction reasons.
After serving in the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
from 1948 to 1951, where he performed with the
Marine Band
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
, Carrabotta worked in construction.
Attempting to break into comic books, Carrabotta found himself turned away at several publishing houses, including by
Stan Lee, editor-in-chief of
Atlas Comics, the future
Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
* ...
.
[Carrabotta interview]
''Alter Ego'', p. 41 In a 2006 interview, Carrabotta credits
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...
for his professional entrée, describing how Kirby turned him down for comics-studio work, but then upon finding Carrabotta's pregnant wife in the lobby as he was seeing Carrobotta out, gave the struggling artist a break:
That five-page story, "The House on the Hill" in ''Astonishing'' #13 (May 1952), led to a stream of regular work as a freelance penciler for Atlas Comics, with Carrabotta initially inking himself and later being inked by
Jack Abel.
[Vic Carrabotta]
at the Grand Comics Database
The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...
Atlas Comics
Drawing primarily for
horror comics
Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...
, Carrabotta did work for early issues of such Atlas
anthologies as ''Adventures into Terror'', ''
Journey into Mystery
''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stories in the late 1950s. ...
'' (including issue #1), and ''
Strange Tales
''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in ''Strange Tales''. It was a showcase for the science ...
'' prior to the imposition of the industry's self-censorship
Comics Code
The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. T ...
. He went on to do
science-fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
/
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
suspense stories for titles including ''Journey into Unknown Worlds'', ''
Marvel Tales'', ''
Mystic'', ''
Uncanny Tales'', and others.
Carrabotta was one of the few Atlas artists to regularly sign his work, aiding in compiling his bibliography.
After five years, Carrabotta and his wife moved from New York City to his wife's hometown,
[Carrabotta, January 2006 interview, in ] Lone Star, South Carolina
Lone Star is an unincorporated community in Calhoun County, South Carolina, United States. The community has the ZIP Code of 29030 and lies at approximately 33.63 latitude and -80.59 longitude, with an elevation of 171 feet. It is part of the Co ...
. Continuing to draw for Marvel long-distance, he expanded to such
war comics
War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.
History American war comics
Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began incl ...
as ''Battle'', ''Battle Action'', ''Battlefront'', ''Battleground'', and the aptly named ''War Comics''; such
Westerns
The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
as ''Apache Kid'', ''
Kid Colt: Outlaw'', ''The Outlaw Kid'', and ''Western Outlaws''; the
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
anthologies ''Caught'' and ''Police Action''; the jungle title ''
Jann of the Jungle
''Jungle Tales'' (later called ''Jann of the Jungle'') was an American comic book title published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor to Marvel Comics. It was an anthology title of stories set in an African jungle.
Publication history
Jungl ...
''; and the
men's adventure
Men's adventure is a genre of magazine that was published in the United States from the 1940s until the early 1970s. Catering to a male audience, these magazines featured pin-up girls and lurid tales of adventure that typically featured wartime fe ...
anthology ''Rugged Action''.
[
Carrabotta also did a limited amount of work in the 1950s for Youthful Comics (''Chilling Tales'', ''Atomic Attack!''), ]Fiction House
Fiction House was an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. It was founded by John B. "Jack" Kelly and John W. Glenister.Saunders, David"JACK BYRNE (1902-1972),"Field Guide to Wild American P ...
(''Planet Comics
''Planet Comics'' was a science fiction comic book title published by Fiction House from January 1940 to Winter 1953. It was the first comic book dedicated wholly to science fiction.Benton, Mike. ''Science Fiction Comics: The Illustrated History'' ...
''), and Lev Gleason Publications
Lev Gleason Publications, founded by Leverett Stone Gleason (1898–1971), was the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, including '' Daredevil Comics'', '' Crime Does Not Pay'', and '' Boy Comics''.
Backg ...
(''The Amazing Adventures of Buster Crabbe
Clarence Linden Crabbe II (; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983), known professionally as Buster Crabbe, was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimmi ...
'', ''Black Diamond Western'', fillers in ''Crime Does Not Pay'' and that company's '' Daredevil''). Carrabotta's last work before leaving comics in the wake of an industry downturn was a story in ''Gunsmoke Western'' #49 (Nov. 1958), though Carrobotta did return for a single Marvel comic during the period fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an in ...
: the nine-page story "The Challenge of Cole Younger" in ''Two-Gun Kid
The Two-Gun Kid is the name of two Western fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first, Clay Harder, was introduced in a 1948 comic from Marvel predecessor Timely Comics. The second, Matt Hawk a ...
'' #86 (March 1967), written by Gary Friedrich
Gary Friedrich (; August 21, 1943 – August 29, 2018) was an American comic book writer best known for his Silver Age stories for Marvel Comics' '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'', and, in the following era, for the series '' The Monster o ...
.
Marvel reprinted several Carrabotta stories in the 1970s, and one additional in the reprint-anthology miniseries ''Curse of the Weird'' #3 (Feb. 1994).
Later life and career
Upon leaving comics after a 1950s Atlas downturn, Carrabotta moved from South Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, where he went to work for a printer, illustrating booklets. Segueing into advertising, he opened his own studio in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...
, then returned to New York City, where he became senior art director at the Alden Advertising Agency. After being in and out of work, he briefly joined ''Mother Earth News Magazine'' in Henderson, North Carolina
Henderson is a city and the county seat of Vance County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,060 at the 2020 census.
History
The city was named in honor of former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Leonard Henderson, w ...
, before again returning to New York to be an art director at ''Reader’s Digest
''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
''. From there he became an art director at the Atlanta office of the Manhattan advertising agency
An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
BBDO
BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...
, specializing in storyboards. After winning an award for a Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...
project, he began freelancing as a storyboard and conceptual artist
Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional Aesthetics, aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes ca ...
for several agencies, including Grey Advertising
Grey Group is a global advertising and marketing agency with headquarters in New York City, and 432 offices in 96 countries, operating in 154 cities. It is organized into four geographical units: North America; Europe, Middle East & Africa, A ...
, McCann-Erickson
McCann, formerly McCann Erickson, is an American global advertising agency network, with offices in 120 countries. McCann is part of McCann Worldgroup, along with several other agencies, including direct digital marketing agency MRM//McCann, expe ...
, and Young & Rubicam
VMLY&R is an American marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the merger of VML, founded in 1992, and Young & Rubica ...
, for accounts including Advil
Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is used for treating pain, fever, and inflammation. This includes painful menstrual periods, migraines, and rheumatoid arthritis. It may also be used to close a patent ductus a ...
, AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...
, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
, Jell-O
Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a ...
, and Kenner Toys
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...
.[ Additional , June 15, 2010.]
Personal life and death
Carrabotta was married twice. He has six children. During the latter part of his advertising career, he and his family lived in Westport, Connecticut
Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
History
...
, but after remarrying, he and his new wife left the New York metropolitan area following the 9/11 terror attack of the World Trade Center and moved to Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...
. At some point afterward he spent three years in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, California, where he worked on the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' movie posters. As of at least 2010, he lived in South Carolina.
Carrabotta died in South Carolina on November 22, 2022, at the age of 93.
References
External links
The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
*
Corner House Music, 2005 (Vic Carrabotta photo). Corner House Music, 2005 (Vic Carrabotta photo)
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrabotta, Vic
1929 births
2022 deaths
American advertising people
American comics artists
American storyboard artists
Atlas Comics
Marvel Comics people
Military personnel from New York City
The High School of Music & Art alumni